Different Shades of the Moon
by siriusxoo
Summary: Join Nymphadora Tonks as she becomes an Auror, joins the Order of the Phoenix, meets the quiet and boring Remus Lupin, who breaks that image of him forever as they fall in love. The story of Remus and Tonks, an unforgettable couple, through which not even age could break them apart in the end.
1. Sexist Pigs Ruin My Day

_**Sexist Pigs Ruin My Day**_

**Hey guys!**  
**OMG!**  
**I just started this brand new story. It's, as you know, called Different Shades of the Moon.**

**I'm so excited. This is truly my first ever continued story. Laugh at Him, Fight For Him, Love Him was made first-most and only- most (is that a real word? Who cares? :p) for a friend. This, Different Shades of the Moon, is my first real story.**

**Thank you, AsianWithATaser, for thinking of the title.**

**:D so excited!**  
**Hope you like it, love it. Whichever.**

**POTENTIAL AD ALERT!**  
**Sorry to those who are disappointed with me sorta stopping Laugh at Him, Fight for Him, Love Him. I might put it up for adoption. To anyone who wants to continue it. Maybe.**  
**POTENTIAL AD ALERT END!**

**I really want to work on this story with all my heart.**

**Please review it. And sorry for any mistakes. And I apologize if I went overboard with the details. I don't want to get accused of not having enough details again. :) ...**

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**Look at my friend's fanfiction, pretty please. It's called "Running from the Moon" by AsianWithATaser.**  
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_**Sexist Pigs Ruin My Day**_

Tonks grinned, pumping out a triumphant fist. She had finally passed her Auror qualification exams. Tomorrow, she would get her own mini cubicle in the Ministry of Magic.

"Who to brag to, who to brag to?" Tonks pondered out loud.

Summoning her Patronus, a clumsy dog quite like herself, she said, "I just passed my Auror exams an hour ago. I'm supposed to arrive at the Ministry tomorrow. Wish me luck." she said, shivering again with delight. "Give the message to Mum, Dad and... that should be alright."

Her Patronus barked happily, wagged his tail, and soared out of the window, banging his shin on the windowsill.

Tonks frowned. The past four years, she had trained, and trained, and trained, straight from Hogwarts. She had lost touch with all of her old mates, and relatives, exempting her mum and dad.

"That could change now." She thought.

Tonks sighed. It was quite late, almost dusk. Her fellow trainees, and now employees, had left already. She was sitting in the exact position, slumped on the floor in the practice room, where she had collapsed after finally passing her Stealth exam.

Tonks stood up, and immediately winced. Both of her feet had fallen asleep. Tonks shuffled from foot to foot, as she tried to shake the blood back into her tingling feet. Giving up, she decided just to lean against the wall and limp to the door. She made it halfway, before her left leg suddenly cramped. Tonks cried out as she fell, flinging both of her arms out. She thudded on the floor. Wincing, she sat up and rubbed the scrapes on her knuckles. A sudden chuckle startled her, and Tonks looked up.

A pair of eyes bored into hers. At the sight of the infamous magical blue eye, Tonks quickly stood. She lurched forward, surprised again at her tingly feet. Mad-Eye Moody caught her, chuckling slightly. Tonks blushed, and straightened herself, taking a couple of steps backwards.

"Um... wotcher. Sorry 'bout that." mumbled Tonks, ducking her head.

She knew the reputation he had. The best- known of all Aurors, feared by most Dark wizards, he was, well, intimidating.

"That's alright." he said, in a deep gruff voice. "Though, no wonder you had trouble with the Stealth exam, if you're so clumsy." said Mad- Eye, in a voice not unkind at all.

Tonks smiled a little, unsure of herself. According to the Ministry gossip, Mad- Eye was supposed to be unsocial, stoic, and gruff. He certainly wouldn't look at her with a twinkle in his real eye, like he was doing so now.

"I failed the Stealth test every month for two years, until today. But I'm a Metamorphagus, so I passed the Disguise exam with a 110%." said Tonks, smiling.

Her ability to change her appearance at will was the one thing she was proud of.

Mad- Eye nodded a little. "Well, I look forward to working with you." he said, leaving the practice room without another word.

Tonks frowned slightly. She had thought that first year Aurors were trained by second year Aurors. And Mad- Eye was far from a second year Auror. Giving her head a quick shake, Tonks shrugged and walked out the doors. The cubicles were mostly empty, excepting some small pools of light where some employees worked frantically.

Tonks took the elevator down to the first floor, where she Apparated to her flat.

Stumbling from the swooping, pressing feeling, Tonks steadied herself against the front door and braced herself before unlocking the door. A wave of the smells of rotting pizzas and old clothes hit her. Tonks sighed at the mess. Towering stacks of pizza boxes and piles of smelly robes greeted her in her sitting room.

The sink was piled with dirty dishes, overflowing onto the counter, and from her position near the door, she could see that her bedroom was filled with clothes, tattered books, and discarded paperwork. Tonks sighed again. She locked the door with the usual enchantments, and pushed up her sleeves.

Starting with the sitting room, she waved her wand, thinking of a vacuum spell her mother used to use. Tonks groaned when all that happened was that the nearest pizza box twitched. She changed her hair into a short, red pixie cut, screwing her face in concentration. Now that her hair was out of the way, she leaned over, and heaved the smallest pile of pizza boxes into her arms. She lugged them outside to the Dumpster. She had to make thirteen trips to the Dumpster before her small flat was finally free of pizza boxes. Tonks tried the vacuum spell again. This time, it worked, clearing the dirt and dust from the frothy pink carpet.

Now that the floor was clean, she sat on her bright blue couch and stuffed the old Daily Prophets into a garbage bag. Vacuuming the small table, and then the couch, Tonks looked around the small sitting room, finally clean. She wiped her sweaty face with the end of her sleeve, and started to wash the dishes, speeding things along with a handy spell. She only broke four plates and a cup before she had cleaned the kitchen, wiping the small counter and the small refrigerator/fridge.

Tonks took a deep breath, arming herself with two new garbage bags, before venturing into her bedroom. She went on her hands and knees, collecting old written Auror exams, paperwork, and more Daily Prophets. She dragged the bulging bag to the door, where two other bags sat.

Returning to her bedroom, she vacuumed the floor and started the first load of laundry. Leaving the rest in a hamper, she made her small bed with her favorite bright pink sheets and comforter. She organized her small closet, hating every minute of it. She cleared the small nightstand and plugged in her lamp. Her bedroom was finally clean.

Tonks groaned when she realized that she had forgotten the bathroom. Opening the small door, she was assaulted by a strong, sweet smell. Her lotions were spilled over the sink, mixing together to create an array of bright, sweet- smelling colors. Her lavender soap was melting down in a puddle of water on the floor. Her matching lavender shampoo wasn't spilled, thankfully, but was covered in the spilled lotions on the counter. Her brush was lying face- down in the floor, dangerously near the soap puddle. The deep four-clawed bathroom was filled with two inches of murky water. Her oval mirror was dusty, with what looked like toothpaste smeared around the edges. Tonks shuddered.

She slipped off her shoes and vacuumed the water, picking up the soap and placing it on its little plate on the counter, wiping the lotions, and lining them up neatly next to the sink, and picking up her brush. She washed off her shampoo and placed it next to the soap. She unplugged the water and rinsed the bathtub. She wiped the mirror and looked at herself. Her hair was matted with sweat, and her brow was dirty with grime. Her knees were dripping and her clothes smelled horrible. Tonks sighed. She stripped, and took a long bath, making sure to add lots of bubbles. The pink bubbles lapped against her skin, soothing her. Tonks almost drifted off. She snapped awake with a nod, and drained the water. Shivering, she turned on the shower and rinsed. Drying herself with a fluffy pink towel, Tonks wrapped herself with it and padded to her room. She dressed in a purple pair of shorts and a black tank top.

She walked back to the bathroom, changing her hair to waist- length, and purple colored, with lots of curls. Tonks dried her hair with her wand, and brushed it. She tossed her trainers near the front door, amid the jumble of shoes. Finally able to rest, she drank a glass of water, looking out the window. It was pitch dark. Tonks looked at her watch. It was 1 am. Tonks sighed. She brushed her teeth and washed her face, applying her lotions. Slipping between the pink sheets, she pulled her familiar comforter over her shoulders. Before drifting off to sleep, she said a quick prayer to someone, anyone, that she wouldn't make a fool of herself tomorrow. Tonks set her alarm to six am, and abruptly dropped off into a blissful slumber.

Tonks woke to bright sunshine in her eyes. Yawning, she stretched and blinked quickly. Sitting up in the slightly chilly air, she checked her alarm. It was six thirty! She had thirty minutes!

Tonks stumbled out of bed, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. She washed up in record speed, dressing in the plain, drab Ministry robes. But she perked up when she changed her purple hair to a short, wild, bright pink cut, her favorite. She made her nose straighter, her eyes a light brown, with a thin face. She then rushed out of her flat, pulling on her blue trainers. She allowed herself a quick breath before Apparating to the Ministry.

Immediately, she ran to the elevator, going up to the Auror floor. An old man was talking to three other first year Aurors in a small room by the time she arrived. Slipping in quietly, she managed to go unnoticed by the man, who was facing a screen, until she tripped on a chair and fell flat in her face. Ignoring the stings of pain, she sprang back up, mumbling her apologies to the man.

"Just what do you think you're doing?! You arrive late, make a scene, and try to apologize?! You should be ashamed! An Auror does not be late. He is always prepared, on time, and ready to go at a moment's notice! Shame on you!" he reprimanded, putting his nose in the air arrogantly.

Tonks blushed a brilliant red. She felt her hair change red as well. She had never been this humiliated, by a scorning old man and three other young men, snickering behind her back. Not that she was friends with any of them.

"That's enough!" exclaimed a familiar gruff voice.

Tonks turned, only to see Mad- Eye walking towards them, his robes billowing importantly around him.

He walked through the open door, and said,  
"Wettsky, I shall take Tonks. Please continue with the orientation."

He pulled Tonks by the wrist, leaving behind a flustered man and three shocked twenty two year old young men.

Mad- Eye pulled Tonks into his private office. He sat down behind the grand oak desk, and motioned Tonks to sit at a small stool. She sat, planting both feet on the floor firmly, ensuring that she couldn't fall over.

"You must be wondering why I took you from that class, right?" asked Mad- Eye, both of his eyes staring her down.

"Yes. Why did you?"

"Wettsky is an old Auror. He was an excellent in his day. But he is also very sexist. He doesn't like the idea of female Aurors. Especially since you're the first one in a long time."

"Oh." Sexist pigs, thought Tonks, they just totally ruined my day.

"So, I'm going to handle your work now. And if you're wondering why, it's because I like your spunk. You have more spunk then those peacocks back there combined." finished Mad- Eye.

"Um... thanks. A lot." she said, grinning at the old wizard across the desk.

He nodded back at her, his magical eye whizzing around the room.

"So, what am I doing today?" she asked brightly.

She felt her hair fade back to pink.

"Here. Fill this out and bring it back tomorrow. You can do it at home, if you prefer, or in your cubicle. It's number six." said Mad- Eye, passing her a stack of papers.

Tonks visibly deflated. She stifled a groan, and stood up.

"Um... See you tomorrow." she said, shuffling from foot to foot.

Mad- Eye nodded, already busy with some files on his desk. She turned on her heel and left the office. After getting lost twice and finding directions from a nice witch, Tonks found her way to her cubicle, a small drab square with a small desk, and a lamp. She sighed at the dull desk. Deciding to just work at home, where at least the furniture was colorful, she took the elevator down and Apparated to her flat. Tonks worked on her paperwork for six hours straight, inhaling some food afterwards and dropping off to sleep.

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	2. Order of the What?

_**"Order of the... What?"**_

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**Don't know if anyone is actually reading this, so I might be talking to myself. But I do that all the time, so who cares?**

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_**"Order of the... What?"**_

Tonks groaned, and looked up from her desk. She had been an Auror for a week now. Filing, and jotting down memos for other Aurors filled her days at the office. Filling out paperwork kept her at her desk at home for hours at a time. She had barely a time to rest, let alone get back in touch with her old mates, and her relatives.

But seeing how her Aunt Bellatrix was a murdering psychopath, and Aunt Narcissa was married to a supposed one, and her favorite cousin had turned out to be a backstabbing, murdering, known follower of Voldemort, Tonks thought that maybe, she wouldn't get in touch with her relatives after all.

Even now, after all this time, she couldn't believe that Sirius, the smiling, handsome, gangly troublemaker, her favorite cousin, had betrayed James and Lily, killed Pettigrew, and had ended up in Azkaban, escaping in a year. Tonks sighed, and put it out of her mind. It was better than wallowing in what- ifs.

Tonks filled out the form for some werewolf killings in London. She had always thought that werewolves were just misunderstood. It was sad to see how they were discriminated and looked over. But she thought that the werewolves who wanted to contaminate other people were monsters. She couldn't understand how they could pass it on to someone else, knowing how hard their life was.

A paper airplane memo soared gracefully onto her desk. Tonks opened it, excitedly. She had written hundreds of these for other Aurors too busy to write their own, but this was her first one.

'Tonks.  
Come to my office in five minutes.  
Mad- Eye Moody'

Tonks smiled. She hadn't forgotten that he had saved her from that sexist old man and his little sexist minions. Through his gruff demeanor, he had a soft side for her that she took a liking to.

Looking at her watch, she counted down the time by tapping her quill to her noggin. Exactly five minutes on the dot, Tonks knocked on the door to Mad- Eye's office.

The door swung open, and Tonks marched in... only to trip over a door stop. Tonks straightened up and saw Mad- Eye looking at her in a peculiar way. It was almost like fondness.

She sat in the stool across from Mad- Eye, who was almost always behind his desk when in the building. Tonks had only seen Mad- Eye a couple of times this past week, mostly to turn in, and be handed more paperwork.

"Wotcher." said Tonks, giving him a nod and a smile.

Mad- Eye grunted.

"So..." said Tonks. "What did you call me here for?"

Mad- Eye abruptly got up and went to the door. He locked it, putting on a couple of non- verbal spells. The door glowed for a second, before Mad- Eye nodded in approval and returned to his seat behind the desk.

"Why did you just do that?" questioned Tonks, a little nervously.

"Prying ears are everywhere in this building. You should know that by now. I wanted to propose something to you." said Mad- Eye, his deep voice almost a gruff from his serious tone.

"What is it? 'Cause if it's like a 90 day paperwork agreement, I ain't signing it. No way!" exclaimed Tonks, her red hair changing purple.

"Calm down." said Mad- Eye gruffly. "I chose you, because I thought you the best candidate for the job. And we need another Auror in on it." said Mad- Eye secretively.

"In on what?" asked Tonks, glowering at him in impatience.

"A secret organization, set in defeating He- Who- Must- Not- Be- Named. " answered Mad- Eye, both magical and real eye aimed at her.

"Um... How is this any different from being an Auror?" asked Tonks, her face screwed up in confusion.

"There are some things the Ministry doesn't know. And doesn't have to know. Are you in, Tonks?"

"Yes." said Tonks, simply.

She loved secrets, she lived for them. Her friends confided in her, because she knew how to keep them. And this sounded more exciting that crushes and dates. And Tonks had a feeling that this would be way more exciting than paperwork. By a long shot.

And anyways, the entire reason she wanted to become an Auror was that she had wanted to stop Voldemort. At all costs. This seemed like a better way to start than... paperwork. Ugh. Tonks shuddered.

She left Mad- Eye's office with a grin, going straight to her cubicle and trying out different faces to look presentable. She finally decided on big brown eyes, a button nose, and her favorite hairstyle, that is to say, her short, wild, pink 'do.

She looked down at herself. Her robes were purple (she had altered them on her first day), with light purple polka dots. She had on black combat boots that made a heavy 'clunk' when she walked, black skinny jeans, and a silver belt adorned with glittering stars and moons.

'Well,' thought Tonks, 'I might not look presentable to a secret anti- Voldemort society, but I'll sure as hell look different.'

When Tonks was just about to die of boredom, Mad- Eye appeared in front of her paper target. Tonks almost shot a quill at him in surprise. She stood up quickly.

"Let's go." said Mad- Eye, his magical eye swiveling in its socket.

"Finally! Alright, I'm ready." exclaimed Tonks, swinging her hands, and then stuffing them in her pockets, making sure her wand was in its place.

They Apparated to a small Muggle town. Walking around their houses, Tonks could see the Muggles eating in peace, oblivious to the wizard and witch.

Mad- Eye stopped abruptly. Thy were at a dark street called Grimmauld Place, which sounded awfully familiar to her. The houses here were large, but was just about to ask which house was the headquarters, when Mad- Eye shoved her a slip of parchment, a note written in loopy handwriting.

'The headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix may be found at number twelve, Grimmauld Place, London.'

Tonks opened her mouth to ask a question, but Mad- Eye cut her off.

"Not now. Wait until we get inside."

Tonks frowned, then brightened when she saw the strangest thing she had ever seen (which was saying something, because she had seen once Sirius, when she was nine, at four in the morning, drunk, in a tutu, and singing wildly to the WNN).

Number 12 Grimmauld Place popped up in her vision. Tonks found herself wondering how she could have missed an entire house, when Mad- Eye led the way to the door. He unlocked it using a bunch of spells.  
Opening the door, Tonks saw that the house was dusty, and dim.  
They walked in, Tonks following Mad- Eye.

Immediately, Tonks tripped over an umbrella stand that was shaped like a troll's leg.

"Ouch! " she exclaimed, crouching ti examine her sore toe.

"Are you okay?" said a man, crouching down next to her.

Tonks stared at his dusty boots. She slowly looked up. Sirius Black looked at her, concern etched into his eyes.  
Tonks stared at him in shock.

"Hey. I missed you." he said, a smile breaking out on his gaunt face, still managing to hint glimpses of the handsome boy he was.

Tonks leaped up, pushing Sirius onto his back. She was about to knock him out with a blue umbrella when Mad- Eye stopped her. He grabbed the umbrella and put it down, helping Sirius up.

"What is he doing here, Mad- Eye?! He's a criminal! A murderer!" yelled Tonks, pointing an accusing finger at a smiling Sirius.

Mad- Eye sighed, and pushed Tonks into the kitchen. She stumbled, using a chair to keep her from falling. The chair creaked precariously, and before Tonks had enough time to react, it broke, bringing her down with it.

"Ouch!" yelled Tonks, grabbing her aching leg.

Sirius crouched down next to her again.

"You okay?" he questioned.

Tonks glared at him.

He was too close to her.  
Tonks didn't like criminals near her. Her reaction?  
Duh.  
She kicked him in the balls.

Tonks leaned back lazily while he rolled around the floor in agony, screaming "What the hell?!" over and over again.

Just then, Mad- Eye walked in. He looked very confused at the scene.  
Tonks smiled, flicking her hand up in a wave.

"Wotcher."

After Sirius had recovered (sort of), he took a shaky step to a chair, leaning on it before proceeding to sit down.

"Thanks. That was one hell of a hi." said Sirius, his eyes red around the rims.

"Not a hi. It was one of my special wotcher's" smirked Tonks.

"That's enough." said Mad- Eye, slamming his scarred hand down in the weathered wood. "Tonks, he's innocent. He didn't kill the Potter's, nor Pettigrew. In fact, Pettigrew isn't dead at all. He's hiding. Pettigrew betrayed the Potter's to Voldemort, not Sirius."

Tonks stared at Mad- Eye. She couldn't breathe, let alone talk. Her mind was whirling. Was that true? Could it be?

Sirius stood up.

"Let me explain, Tonks. Pettigrew knew that I knew the truth! He's an Animagus, and transformed into a rat, cutting off his finger, and blowing up the street. I didn't do it, why would I do such a thing? And besides, Tonks, I loved James like a brother and Lily as well. Think about it. When you thought I killed them, did you believe it?" he exclaimed, waving his hands in the air for significance.

Tonks took a deep breath, eying him warily. The truth in his eyes told as much: he wasn't lying. Tonks grinned. She ran to him, giving him a great hug.

"Sirius! I missed you so much!" she cried, grinning up to his surprised face.

Sirius smirked, running his hands through his unkempt hair.

"I missed you too, cousin, dear. But shouldn't you say sorry first? You knock over my umbrellas, push me around, call me a criminal, and kick my poor nuts." said Sirius, smirking at Tonks' blush.

"Sorry. Really." said Tonks, giving her cousin a half smile.

"It's alright." he waved it off, proceeding to summon some butterbeers.

"Mad- Eye, do you want one?" asked Sirius.

He turned, only to see an empty space. A small piece of parchment stood in his place.

'Sirius, explain to Tonks about the Order of the Phoenix. Tonks, I left you some paperwork in the hall.'

Tonks wrinkled her nose. Stupid paperwork.

"The Order of the... what?" she asked Sirius, brows scrunched up in confusion.

"The Order of the Phoenix. It's simple, really. It's a secret society hellbent on defeating Voldemort. Dumbledore founded it. This, my parents' house, is the headquarters. We have meetings every Thursday, but if there's an emergency, we meet as well. Any questions?"

"Why doesn't the Ministry know about this?"

Sirius smirked wryly.

"They don't know about me being innocent either, do they? Nor about a lot of things, those stuck up buggers."

"Huh." she looked around. "Why is it so dirty?"

Sirius barked out a laugh.

"No one's lived here since my parents died." he explained.

Tonks wrinkled her nose, looking around the extremely grimy kitchen.

"You've got a hell of a lot of cleaning to do." she said.

Sirius sighed.

"Yeah. Wanna help? First meeting's next week." he said, looking at Tonks with a hopeful expression.

"Why? No one to help you?" she asked, an eyebrow arched.

"Nah, my friend Moony is coming soon. But we could use a hand." he said.

"What kind of parent's name their son 'Moony'?" she asked.

"But then again, my fool of a mother named me 'Nymphadora'" she reasoned with herself.

"It's not his real name. It's just his nickname." Sirius explained. "And he should be here by now."

Sirius got up, peering into the dark hallway. The ding of a doorbell penetrated the silence. Suddenly, a deafening screaming filled the house. Tonks jumped up, wand at the ready. She ran into the hallway where Sirius and another man was trying to pull the curtains over a great portrait of her very own extremely pleasant great-aunt.

When she finally shut up, Sirius led the way into the kitchen, where Tonks was drinking from a butterbeer.

Sirius introduced them.

"Moony, this here is my cousin, Nymphadora Tonks. Nymphadora, this is Moony." he said, sitting with a flourish.

Moony sat down as well. Tonks appraised him. He was wearing rather shabby robes and a frayed jumper. He had a lined face that made him look older than he was. He had a kind face, twinkling eyes, and slender hands that folded together on the table.

'Nice mannered, probably boring,' she thought. 'How on earth is he friends with Sirius Black?'

Moony leaned forward.

"Hello, Nymphadora. I'm Remus Lupin. Nice to meet you." he said, offering her a pleasant smile that erased many of the lines on his face.

"Nice to meet you, too. But don't call me Nymphadora. I'm Tonks." she said, glowering at Sirius, who shrugged.

Remus nodded, and stopped quickly.

An awkward silence ensued.

Turning to Sirius, he asked, "I thought we were supposed to clean?"

"Yeah. Go ahead and clean the kitchen and the pantry. I'm gonna, uh... look for a broom!" he said, dashing off to avoid work as usual.

Tonks smirked.

Remus sighed, standing up and trying to smooth his frayed robes.

"How do you know Sirius?" Tonks asked, walking over to peek a look into the dark pantry.

She sneezed violently into the dust.

"We were friends at school." replied Remus. "And bless you." he added.

They both walked into the pantry, flicking on the lights. Tonks and Remus both froze at the sight of the cockroaches. Tonks immediately pulled out her wand and shot some sparks at the roaches, who ran away. Looking around for Remus, he seemed to have disappeared in a cloud of dust.  
Tonks walked out of the pantry, dusting off her sleeves as though she had just emerged from a magnificent battle. Remus was at the table, his head in his hands.

"Remus, you okay?" she asked, washing her hands at the sink.

"Go away." mumbled Remus.

Tonks laughed.

"You're scared of roaches?"

"Yes. As well as many other stupid fears I have yet to overcome."

"Are you a teacher, by any chance?" asked Tonks, scrunching her face to change her hair blue.

"Well, I was, last year."

At that, Remus' face seemed to wrinkle and age magnificently, his dreary look back in his young eyes. He sighed.

Tonks coughed awkwardly.

"Well, I'm just saying that you sound like a bloody teacher. Painfully polite to others, perfect grammar and all." she said, shrugging her shoulders.

Remus chuckled.

"I'll take that as a compliment." said Remus, looking as though he was cheered up.

Tonks nodded, thinking that there was more to Remus Lupin than what met the eye.

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	3. See you tomorrow, Professor

**"See you tomorrow, Professor"**

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Tonks clapped her hands together and cheered, flopping down on one of the chairs.

"We're done" she crowed, grinning at the slightly sopping Remus behind her.

He took a seat beside her, running his hands over his disheveled hair, nodding in shared relief.

"Sirius." he called out, in the direction of the hallway, "You can stop hiding now.'

Remus smirked as Sirius loped into the kitchen a moment later.

"And how was your relaxing time with Buckbeak?" he added, his mischievous eyes twinkling at Sirius' slight discomfort.

"I found a broom." said Sirius sheepishly, as he held up a dusty broom with a slightly cracked handle.

"Well, we couldn't have done the job without you." said Remus, leaning back in his chair.

At that, Tonks laughed, leaning over the table to reach for her leftover butterbeer.

Sirius pouted at Remus, slipping into a chair across Tonks.

"Hey, what do you say? Let's have a party!" exclaimed Sirius, his bright eyes in contrast to his lined face and matted hair.

"I have work tomorrow." stated Tonks, taking a sip of her butterbeer.

"I think I'm all free for the evening." said Remus, turning towards Tonks.

"Stay. And we'll show you a real Marauder's party." said Remus, smiling slightly, one eyebrow raised.

Tonks smirked.

"That old boy's gang that you guys made, back when you went to Hogwarts? What's impressive about that?" asked Tonks, tilting her head up at Remus and then at Sirius.

The reactions came immediately.

Sirius choked on his butterbeer and stood up, coughing wildly, his eyes bulging. He stumbled backwards and leaned heavily against the wall.

Remus looked as though he was a statue, frozen on his chair, a hand on the worn wooden table.

"Uh... am I missing something here?" asked Tonks, wrinkling her brow.

Sirius wheezed wildly across the table and waved his hand at Remus. Tonks turned to Remus, who had unfroze suddenly.

"Well?" asked Tonks, a little impatience leaking into her question.

"The Marauders." started Remus, " is the close friendship of four boys. James, Sirius, Remus and Peter. The masters of pranks. The mischievous shadows of the night." exclaimed Remus dramatically.

Tonks still had an eyebrow raised.

"Remus! Are we this forgettable?" yelled Sirius, laying one hand over his brow.

Remus laughed, and nodded a little.

"After all," Remus said, "we only ended up in detention at least once every two days."

Tonks laughed at his sarcastic tone, a little shocked at the news.

Sirius shook his head.

"No, Remus. You ended up in detention once or so a week. You were the mastermind behind the scenes. It's James and I who did all of the dirty work" he exclaimed, his bright eyes shining at memories of the past.

Remus chuckled, conceding. He looked around at the clean kitchen.

"Sirius, help me bring out the wine, will you?" he asked, tapping his long fingers on the table.

Tonks watched as Sirius walked jauntily into the pantry with Remus. They emerged after a couple of minutes with two old, dusty wine bottles. Tonks helped open the wine bottle with the spell printed out on the label.

"Well," said Sirius, when they had settled at the table with three glasses, "onward with the drinking?"

Tonks murmured her agreement, accepting the glass of wine from Sirius. She took a sip and felt the tart liquor slide down her throat.

"I'm not that great at holding my liquor" warned Tonks, taking another burning sip.

"Don't worry" said Sirius, who had already downed two glasses, "You can sleep in one of the empty rooms."

"Let's play a drinking game" exclaimed Remus, taking a mouthful of wine. "The one where you be truthful to any question, but if you want to pass, you have to drink an entire glass of whiskey."

"There's no whiskey." said Tonks, waving her hand at the wine bottles.

"We can get some." Remus smirked, pulling out his wand.

He summoned a glass bottle from the pantry that was filled with whiskey.

Tonks wrinkled her brow in confusion.

"If you knew it was there, why didn't you bring it out with the wine?"

Remus chuckled softly to himself, stroking his chin.

"Cause then I would seem like I accidentally forgot some strong alcohol and look masculine in front of a lady by performing magic in front of her."

Remus laughed at Tonks' eye roll.

"It was only five minutes ago, yet I find myself wondering what I was going through my old brain."

Tonks chuckled. She waved her hand at him.

"Go ahead."

Remus summoned a large bottle of whiskey from the pantry and caught it in his hand, setting it down on the table.

Sirius reached for it, filling his glass with it and gulping it down.

"If you guys are going to flirt all night, I might as well be as drunk as possible."

"What are you talking about?" asked Tonks, rolling her eyes in annoyance.

Remus smirked and filled his glass with whiskey as well, pouring some for Tonks afterwards.

He took a big gulp and nodded at Tonks.

Tonks took a big swallow, not to be outdone by Remus, but immediately regretted it.

She spluttered across the table, stumbling up and dashing towards the water pitcher. Drinking almost half of the water, Tonks finally took a shaky breath. She turned around.

Sirius was doubled up in laughter, his shaking form on the floor. Remus was on his chair, his hand across his mouth, eyes shining.

"Ah, go ahead and laugh." she exclaimed, rolling her eyes.

Remus promptly let out a huge peal of laughter, a hearty, deep chuckle that was in sharp contrast to Sirius' barks of laughter.

Tonks sighed and sat down at the table again, pulling up her legs and tucking her knees under her chin. She wrapped her arms around her knees and watched the two grown men laugh on the floor.

Sirius got up first, helping up Remus with a hand. They sheepishly sat down again, reaching for their whiskey. As each took a sip, Tonks sighed. And put it out of her mind.

"So, how about that drinking game?" she said, raising her glass towards Sirius.

* * *

Tonks let out a drunken giggle. She set her glass down on the table, almost missing it entirely. Her head swam and her eyesight was slightly blurry.

Remus had his head propped up on an elbow, looking tired, but cheerful nonetheless. Sirius was currently digging through some cabinets under the sink, his skinny butt hanging in the air.

"Pour me another." said Tonks, waving her glass dangerously close near Remus' face.

"Nope. You've had too much to drink. You're drunk."

Tonks narrowed her eyes, her body swaying.

"Aren't you drunk? Not even the slightest? Even Sirius is drunk!" she exclaimed, slurring her words slightly.

"He's never drunk." stated Sirius, finally emerging from the cabinet with his hair all dusty, but with a packet of biscuits held triumphantly in his hand.

"Why?" whined Tonks. She got up, swaying at the spot. And promptly falling on her face.

"Ouch." she said, with no emotion.

Tonks lifted a blurry hand to her face and swiped at her numb face. She saw red on her palm.

"Uh oh!" said Tonks, smiling like a baby. "I hurt myself!" she said proudly.

Remus helped Tonks to the sink, cleaning off the blood and fixing her broken nose with his wand.

"All good?" he asked wearily.

Tonks smirked, and nodded, stumbling up the stairs to the second floor. She looked back down at Remus, who was watching from the first floor with a worried expression.

"Don't worry 'bout me!" yelled Tonks. "I'm fine!"

Remus nodded.

"Go right to bed." he said, motioning her with his hand.

Tonks nodded, and mumbled to herself, "Thanks, dad." She smirked and stumbled into the first room on her right.

The bed looked clean enough, and Tonks was tired enough to sleep on a dead cow, so she peeled off her jumper and fell over onto the lumpy mattress.

"See you tomorrow, Professor."

With that, Tonks fell into a drunken slumber.

* * *

Tonks yawned and opened her eyes to bright sunshine streaming through the curtain-less window. It was extremely uncomfortable; Tonks was squinting. She sat up, pulling the blanket with her, wearing it like a robe over her shoulders. It was cold, and she had an enormous headache. Hopping out of the bed, she pulled on her combat boots, and yanked her wrinkled jumper out from under the bed. She hung it over her shoulder, and went downstairs, stumbling slightly from sleepiness.

Remus was in the kitchen, making coffee. He looked up in surprise when Tonks walked in.

"Can I have some of that? I have a monster headache." Tonks said, groaning and sitting at the table.

"Sure. It'll be ready in a few minutes." said Remus.

He sat down across from her.

"Do you feel okay?"

"No."

"You hardly drank as much whiskey as Sirius and I."

"Well, you guys are old. Big guys. Leave me alone."

Remus wrinkled his brow ever so slightly. Tonks stretched, dropping her jumper on the table and massaging her shoulders.

"What time is it?" she asked. "I need to get to work by ten."

"It's only eight." said Remus. "Drink your coffee and go back to your place."

"Trying to kick me out already? Well, considering how I don't really remember any of last night..." she said, drumming her fingers on the wood.

"You didn't do anything embarrassing." said Remus.

"Yes, you did. " drawled Sirius, loping slowly into the kitchen and collapsing into a chair next to Remus.

Tonks rolled her eyes as Remus smirked at her.

"Why are you up so early?" asked Remus. "Are you okay?"

Sirius nodded. "I'm fine, though I haven't woken up this early since... I don't know when."

Tonks drew her brows together.

"Why?"

Sirius sighed dramatically.

"Well, let's see. I had pureblood-frantic parents, a Death Eater as a brother; I lived right smack in the middle of wartime, lost two of my closest friends, got blamed for murdering them, went to Azkaban, finally escaped, only to be stuck right back in this hellhole, and what do you know? My best friend got the girl."

Sirius sighed again.

Tonks giggled.

"That's some serious bad luck." she said, laughing at Sirius' 'You think?' expression.

At that, the coffee pot rattled on the stove. Remus stood up, bringing it to the table as well as three mugs.

Tonks reached for her coffee immediately, sipping and sighing. She smiled.

"I love caffeine." she sighed, smiling softly to herself.

Sirius took a sip, and promptly pushed his mug away, summoning the whiskey left over from last night. As Tonks stared in disbelief, Sirius drank one, two, three glasses and wiped his mouth.

"What?" he asked in defense to Tonk's expression, "I have a hangover."

Remus snickered.

"A drink for your hangover?" he asked, shaking his head. "Why don't you use your spell for that?"

Tonks gasped. "You have a spell to cure hangovers?" she asked.

Sirius nodded.

"But I don't share with anyone." he said, smirking at Tonks' crestfallen expression.

"Well, then." said Tonks wryly. "I'd better be going to work."

Sirius and Remus both lifted their hands in farewell as Tonks stood up.

Back to the paperwork hell, she thought.

**Did you like it? Did you like it?**

**Terrible ending, I know, but I have to rush off to the family Thanksgiving dinner in five minutes and I want to upload asap as I know some are angry at me for not uploading quickly.**

**I'm thinking of writing a one shot of the drinking game in this chapter.**

**Apologies if I made the Remus/ Tonks relationship slow this chapter. I wanted them to become closer as friends first.**

**Review!**


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